Oklahoma Earthquake: What's Next, a Tornado in Brooklyn?

California, 1933This morning a 5.1 earthquake rocked central Oklahoma. That's right, Oklahoma. Only two related injuries have been reported, one from a man who fell off a ladder, during the quake that was felt all the way to Wichita, Kansas.

As someone who grew up in Oklahoma and just left New York City after a freak hail storm covered Brooklyn in slush, where I also saw the damage of the tornado that swept through Brooklyn and Queens last month -- I have to wonder when the next hurricane is going to get dangerously close to my new home in Los Angeles. This weather mix-up is just a little too freaky and close for comfort.

If I were a conspiracy kind of gal, I'd believe we're all living in an episode of The X-Files. But a more scientifically solid answer is climate change.

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Whether you believe in it or not, climate change is delivering previously unseen weather patterns around the globe. The biggest dangers are events happening in areas that are unprepared for such occurrences. You don't have to watch The Day After Tomorrow to know a category 5 hurricane would devastate the west coast, or a more serious earthquake in Oklahoma would crumble those brick ranch houses (designed more to withstand tornadoes).

Freak weather occurrences are much more devastating to those who are ill-prepared. Increasingly, it doesn't matter where you live -- on the San Andreas fault or in tornado alley -- a natural disaster can rock your area whether you've battened down the hatches, bolted your foundation, or gone to the cellar. Perhaps we need to do all of the above to survive this new, unpredictable weather.